Jesus Wept

Jesus wept, but why?

JOHN 11 BIBLE STUDY ◄
John 11:25-34 I Am the Resurrection and the Life

John 11:35-42 Jesus Wept

JOHN 11:35-36 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”

Is "Jesus wept" (John 11:35) really the shortest verse in the Bible?
In the original Greek, παντοτε χαιρετε (pantote chairete), translated "Rejoice always" in 1 Thessalonians 5:16, is shorter than εδακρυσεν ο ιησους (edakrusen o Iesous), translated "Jesus wept" in John 11:35, keeping in mind that the Bible began to be marked with chapter and verse numbers in the sixteenth century.

What is meant by "Jesus wept"?
εδακρυσεν (edakrusen) means “to tear up in the eye” or “to shed tears.” By contrast, the Greek verb translated "weeping" in John 11:33 for the others is κλαιοντας (klaiontas), which means “to wail.” So Jesus "wept" as in shedding tears while the people around Him were wailing.

Are "the Jews" correct in their perception that Jesus wept because He was sad for Lazarus?
Let's think through this one. Jesus had come to raise Lazarus from the dead. Does it make any sense for Jesus to first mourn Lazarus and then raise him? Imagine you're a doctor and arrive at a group of people wailing over someone whom they think is dead. You check for vital signs and know that you can resuscitate him. Would you start by weeping over the the person you're about to resuscitate? That would make no sense.

Then was Jesus sad for Mary, Martha and the other mourners?
Why would He shed tears of sadness for people who were about to be dancing with joy?

Then what made Jesus so sad?
Let's read on.

JOHN 11:37-42 37 And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?” 38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”

Did Martha believe that Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead?
When Jesus said, “Take away the stone” (John 11:39), Martha actually protested, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days” (John 11:39), which indicates that she didn't believe Jesus could raise her brother from the dead (see I am the resurrection and the life), and Jesus' response to her - “Did I not say to you that IF you would believe you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40, emphasis added) - confirms that she didn't believe.

So why did Jesus shed tears?
It was because He was spiritually saddened - "groaned in the spirit" (John 11:33) - by the unbelief of "friends" whom He "loved." There He was, fast approaching the cross, and even His close friends didn't fully believe in Him.

Is such unbelief something that would really drive God to tears?
Throughout Jesus' ministry, the one thing that He preached and demanded above all else is that people believe in Him - who He is, what He can do, has done and will do, and why. The lack of such faith in Him by those whom He loved was a source of profound sadness for Jesus back then.

Is it any different today?
No.

Does your faith make Jesus glad or sad?